Toasted apple spice kasha for breakfast is a delicious, hearty way to start the day. It's a perfectly cooked buckwheat porridge made into a breakfast bowl. It's served warm with milk and topped with juicy blueberries and sliced almonds.
We like to serve apple spice kasha for breakfast with a generous splash of plant-based Homemade Almond Milk and a drizzle of real maple syrup. The fact that this 15-minute, whole-food morning meal is naturally gluten-free is a happy bonus.
⭐ Why it works
- Plant-based - vegan, whole food, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free.
- Toasted - pan-roasted buckwheat groats for a nutty flavor.
- Firm grains - the perfect amount of water keeps porridge from turning mushy.
- Quick recipe - toasted groats cook into hot cereal in less than 10 minutes.
- Loaded - cooked with cinnamon, topped with fruit, almonds, and milk of your choice.
- Nutrient-dense - buckwheat is so nutritious it's dubbed a superfood by many sources.
📋 Ingredients
- Buckwheat groats - Raw, hulled buckwheat seed is called groats and is light in color.
- Apples - Cook and soften in buckwheat porridge at the same time as the cereal.
- Blueberries - Sprinkle them on the cooked porridge before serving.
- Sliced almonds - Add a little extra crunch and protein to your breakfast.
- Cinnamon and allspice - Are so good with apples.
- Maple syrup - Sweetener is optional and easily substituted with your alternate choice.
- Nut milk - Use your favorite. Almond, cashew, and macadamia are all good. Substitute oat milk if you prefer.
🔪 Steps
How to cook buckwheat porridge
- Toast whole raw groats in a skillet.
- Combine toasted groats with apple, sweet spices, and water in a saucepan.
- Boil for 5-8 minutes, covered, until water is absorbed.
- Fluff cooked cereal with a fork to separate the tender kernels.
How to serve
- Spoon fluffy hot porridge into a bowl.
- Add your favorite milk.
- Top with fresh blueberries.
- Finish with maple syrup and sliced almonds.
👩🏻🍳 Make kasha
Whether you are serving kasha for breakfast or making a dinner pilaf, careful toasting of raw buckwheat groats is key to the recipe.
- Make kasha - Start with hulled, raw buckwheat groats and toast your own kasha at home.
- Pan toast - Stir constantly while browning over medium heat. Keep a small dish of raw buckwheat alongside your skillet for comparison so you can see the change in color.
- Test - When kasha changes color and is fragrant, you can test it by taste. It should have a nice dry crunch and not taste bitter.
- Prevent burning - Just as soon as groats turn a golden color, transfer them to a saucepan to add water, apples, and spices.
💭 FAQ
No. Buckwheat is actually the seed of a flowering plant related to rhubarb and is gluten-free. Old Ways Whole Grain Council explains why it's not a grain or type of wheat.
Unhulled buckwheat has the outer husk intact, is dark in color, and makes a strong-tasting dark flour sometimes used in bread. It's not good for cooking cereal, but great for gardening if you want to grow a cover crop.
Hulled buckwheat has the outer husk removed and is suitable for making pilaf, porridge, pancakes, and noodles. It grinds into a soft, lighter color flour.
Yes, you can. We like to have raw buckwheat on hand for other recipes and freshness. Also, good quality kasha can be expensive, even though it's worth the price. Go right ahead and use it if you have some available.
That's easy. A lot of kasha recipes call for too much water. This recipe is dialed in with just the right amount. Remove your saucepan from heat as soon as the water is absorbed, and let the pan sit covered for a couple of minutes before fluffing with a fork.
🥞 More superfoods
I hope you'll give this apple spice kasha for breakfast a try. It's so yummy you would need to feel guilty if this whole food, gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free breakfast wasn't so healthy!
Enjoyed this post? Leave a comment, rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it, and follow @poppyswildkitchen on Instagram. Aloha!
📖 Recipe
Apple Spice Kasha For Breakfast
Ingredients
Porridge
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats
- 2 cups apple chopped
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ¼ tsp. allspice
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Toppings
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup fresh nut milk
- 2 TB maple syrup to taste
Instructions
Toast buckwheat
- Heat a dry skillet over a medium setting. Toast 1 cup raw buckwheat groats for 5-8 minutes while stirring constantly.
- The trick to evenly toasted groats is to roast over a medium setting. Take care not to burn the groats, but aim for a golden color like the photo in the post.
- You can chew up a groat to test it. It should have a nice dry crunch without tasting bitter or burnt.
Cook porridge
- Chop 2 cups apple into ½-inch pieces and place in a saucepan with 1 ¾ cups water, ¼ tsp. allspice, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, and⅛ tsp. salt.
- Bring water to a boil and stir in toasted buckwheat groats. Lower heat, cover the pan, and cook for 7-8 minutes or until kasha is plump with most of the water absorbed.
- You want the groats to still have some bite and not fall apart or become mushy.
Serve
- Divide cereal between 2 bowls. Top with ½ cup fresh blueberries and ¼ cup sliced almonds. Finish with 1 cup fresh nut milk and 2 TB maple syrup to taste.
Store
- Store leftover porridge without toppings in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat cereal in a microwave and add blueberries, almonds, and milk just before serving.
Johanna
It’s so easy to make and very delicious. Thank you!
A friend gave me an 8 lb bag of kasha. So I’ve been looking for ways to use it besides preparing it like rice… this is the only recipe I’ve found so far. All the others use the raw buckwheat not the roasted one I have. Do you have more ideas as to what else I can make with the big bag of toasted buckwheat?
Poppy Hudson
Glad you are enjoying the recipe! Here are a few other ideas for using kasha: Substitute cooked kasha for cracked wheat in tabouleh salad or stuffed peppers. Use in Buddha bowls in place of cooked quinoa. Mix uncooked kasha into a sugar, butter, and flour crumble topping for fruit crisp and bake. Mix together a homemade granola recipe and stir the uncooked kasha in the last 10 minutes of baking. Add to a pot of vegetable soup near the end of cooking or spoon cooked kasha over the top of a favorite cream soup and sprinkle with green onions or herbs. Then, two traditional favorites are cooked kasha topped with a sauce of sautéed mushrooms, onions, paprika and sour cream or bow tie pasta tossed with caramelized onions and cooked kasha. Hope that helps- have fun!
Johanna
Wow 😮
Thank you!!
I so wanted to be able to add it to granola!! And all the other ideas 😋 I’ll start with granola and stuffed peppers 👍🏼
Again, thanks for the prompt and very helpful reply. Blessings to you and your family 🌷
Poppy Hudson
You are so welcome!🌺